Ebola: GHâ‚µ100,000 allocated for isolation centres in each region

Government has allocated GHâ‚µ100,000 for each of the 10 regional hospitals in the country to facilitate construction of Ebola isolation centres.

Health Minister, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang Mensah who announced this in Tamale on Tuesday, said the money has already been made available to the hospitals.

The Minister had arrived in the Northern Region for a working visit to all the three regions in the north- Northern, Upper East and Upper West- to check on their Ebola preparedness.

The Health Minister first met with the Regional Minister Alhaji Limunu Muniru, who underscored the need for caution among both citizens and health workers.

He told Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng that the way forward is for both citizens and health officials as well as other stakeholders “to be vigilant, and work together” in the fight against Ebola.

The Northern Regional Minister however assured the Health Minister that the region is adequately prepared to deal with the deadly viral disease.

The isolation centres at the regional hospitals are expected to complement three national isolation centres to accommodate Ebola patients in case of an outbreak.

The isolation centres will be fitted with technical and personal protective equipments (PPE’s) to deal with the situation in the instance of an outbreak.

Two of the same facilities are being constructed in Tema and Accra to serve the same purpose.

But the Health Minister said there are plans to convert some of these isolation centres into treatment centres.

West African country, Senegal, became the fifth country in the sub-region to confirm a case on August 29, in what has been the deadliest Ebola outbreak since the disease struck in May this year.

More than 3,000 suspected and confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in the sub-region with Liberia being the worst affected, and more than 1,500 people have died of the virus, according to figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Nigeria, Guinea and Sierra Leone have also recorded Ebola deaths.

Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso have all been spared the deadly virus so far, but fears are that the disease could strike in these countries soon.

The Northern Regional Minister however, said the Region “has an action plan” to contain the disease if the country confirms a case.

He said the region’s action plan includes bringing in religious and traditional leaders on board to fight the disease in case of an outbreak.

He also revealed that sensitisation programmes on Ebola in the Northern Region have been stepped up. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | george.nyavor[email protected]